Simpop2 Generic Model

The generic model was designed for simulating any system of cities in the world.
Therefore, we extracted from an evolutionary theory of urban systems the main common
properties to their evolution. The aim is to reproduce the spatio-temporal dynamics
of interacting cities :

The general growth and expansion of the urban system is produced through
interurban competition for territorial and network resources, which generates
emulation towards innovation.

Differences in city sizes and functions are produced through interactions
between cities.

The model reproduces the emergence of hierarchy in city sizes and the
complexification of urban socio-economic functions, stemming from spatial
interactions that expand in range over time.

The concept of urban geographical situation, e.g. relative position in territories
and networks, is translated into the environment
of the model (map and contextual
key parameters).
Interacting cities are the
agents of the model, whose main
attributes
are size (population and wealth) and a port-folio of functions.
Rules
for the acquisition of new functions and the market
exchanges, which introduce asymmetries in the system dynamics, are the fundamental
interactions which are responsible for the
emergence of the structure of the system.

- Examples of flux charts at the initial and final date of a Simpop simulation -